Predominately in retrofit applications, when replacing a light switch or an incandescent dimmer, the field wiring has two wires (not including ground)—a hot/phase wire and a load wire, i.e., no neutral wire. Two primary issues are presented when trying to control certain loads, such as light emitting diode (LED) or compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) loads, in these situations where no neutral wire is present. The first is to provide a stable zero crossing reference in order to control the light intensity without flickering. The other challenge is in generating enough energy within the power supply of the lighting control to supports its operation, while allowing the lighting load to remain in an off condition (i.e. without the light being illuminated).